The Multilevel Inquiry Approach to Achieving Meaningful Learning in Biochemistry Course

Abstract

Biochemistry learning in higher education not only aims to allow students to remember the concepts learned, but also to achieve meaningful learning. This study examines the implementation of the multilevel inquiry approach in order to achieve meaningful biochemistry learning. Such as approach begins with a structured inquiry, leading to a guided inquiry, and ending with an open inquiry on topics that are connected to each other. A posttest-only control group design was employed, with a total sample of 87 students taking biochemistry courses. The control class consisted of 43 students, with 44 students in the experimental class. The variables tested were learning outcomes, practical skills, and attitudes toward biochemistry, while the effect of the implementation of multilevel inquiry on these three variables was analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). The results show that the class that applied the multilevel inquiry approach achieved higher scores in all three variables than the control class. The MANOVA test shows that the implementation of this approach has a positive effect on the three variables, which represent the cognitive, psychomotor, and affective domains, and that multilevel inquiry was able to foster meaningful learning in biochemistry courses. © 2019 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 48(1):28–37, 2020.